December  Issue

 

The year 2013 in many ways, was a path-breaking one. The year witnessed many incidents that not only forced the authorities to look at the way things were run, but also taught a lesson or two to the government at the Centre. The hasty introduction of an Ordinance to outsmart the SC judgment of disqualifying tainted legislators, inflation and several scams have forced the UPA government and especially the Congress Party to “never underestimate the power of common man” (to borrow lines from the film ‘Chennai Express’). The recent outcome of Delhi elections proves the point.

Women’s safety has been an issue of concern since many years but nothing much was done about it. But things are changing. As the common public comes out in large numbers to protest against heinous rapes and assaults, the authorities are forced to take action and initiate steps to assure security of women at public and work places. The recent Tarun Tejpal episode shows that no one is above law. The involvement of juveniles in rape crimes and the punishment meted out to them, was a topic of debate all through 2013 and with Central government proposing amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act and child rights activists opposing it, the debate promises to continue even in 2014. We have to wait and watch to know the outcome. We, humans, have long played with environment and have been destroying it in the name of ‘development’. The Kedarnath disaster showed that nature too has its own limits of endurance. Post the disaster, governments have been forced to mull over ‘environment friendly’ development agenda. Another shocking incident of 2013 was the series of allegations against the Indian Army, yet, the brave soldiers carry on the message of service to nation before self and that is reassuring that the Indian Army will triumph over all odds. The killing of anti-superstition activist Dr. Narendra Dabholkar refocused our attention to the dangerous lobby behind self proclaimed godmen and the need to relook at the superstitions and blind beliefs that have tainted India. The killers are still at large but the murder has put the focus on the need to pass the long pending anti superstition bill. In India cricket is still a religion and a sport devoured by Indians, all over the world. So, when the fixing scandal once again broke out resulting in the arrest of popular cricketers, the faith in the game did waver for many hardcore fans. Hopefully, 2014 will see cricket being played in the true spirit of the game.

These are some of the issues that OIOP focuses on, in its December 2013 issue ‘2013: SOME KEY LEARNINGS’. We look forward to your feedback.

A landmark ruling of the Supreme Court mandating immediate disqualification of tainted legislators raised hopes of cleansing politics of criminals. The UPA government tried to bring in an Ordinance to reverse the judgment, but it retracted following public pressure. In ‘Taking away the taint’, Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan proposes initiatives for a systemic reform that will transform politics. The author is the founder and President of Lok Satta Party – new politics for the new generation; Email: info@loksattaparty.com; Url: www.loksatta.org

In ‘Safety of women still a far cry’, Ranjona Banerji, senior journalist and consulting editor with the media website MxMIndia.com, says that incidents of crimes against women and subsequent outrage over these crimes have forced us to re-examine ourselves, our laws and our attitudes and that this is a silver lining that will have its own positive impact.

In the wake of reports about children under 18 involved in serious criminal offences, there has been a clamour for amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act, one of which is lowering the age of juveniles. In ‘Give juveniles a chance to reform’, Anant Kumar Asthana, a Delhi based lawyer specialising in Juvenile Justice Law and who has extensively worked with Juveniles in conflict with law, argues that throwing juvenile delinquents in jails cannot be a solution to the problem. They should be given a chance to reform, he says.

Recent incidents such as corruption charges against senior army officers, the V K Singh controversy and reports of conflict between men and officers have dented the image of the Indian Army. In ‘Indian Army will always stand tall’, Brigadier Suresh Chandra Sharma (retd) dismisses any doubts about the integrity of men in uniform and asserts that the credibility of the Indian Army continues to remain high, and the army is battle worthy for any eventuality.

Brigadier Suresh Chandra Sharma (retd.) served in the Army for 30 years. Post retirement he served the telecom industry with multinational and Indian corporates. He is also a freelance journalist and has interests in national security issues.

The Himalayas are ecologically vulnerable, and as the June deluge showed, crossing its bearing line can be disastrous. In ‘‘Ecopreneurship’ can save the hills’, Dr. Anil P Joshi recommends the concept of ecopreneurship for the hilly regions that will nurture the ecosystem, besides bringing economic benefits to the people living there.

Dr. Anil P Joshi is referred to as the ‘Mountain Man’ for his pioneering efforts in ecological development of hilly regions, particularly the rural areas in the Himalayan regions, in the last 33 years. He is the founder of a voluntary organisation named Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO), and promotes rural economy and ecology. The main slogan of HESCO is “Local need meet locally”. You can log on to www.hesco.in to know more.

The year 2013 saw the killing of anti-superstition activist Dr. Narendra Dabholkar and the arrest of godman Asaram Bapu for alleged misconduct. In India, superstitions have always thrived in the name of religion. In ‘Shun those superstitions’, Dr. G Vijayam, Executive Director of Atheist Centre, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, stresses on the need to promote scientific temper in our society, so that irrational beliefs do not go unchallenged.

Yet another shocking match-fixing scandal came to light this year leading to the arrest of popular cricketer S Sreesanth and others. Though this isn’t the first time that Indian cricket has been mired in such a controversy, the Board of Control for Cricket in India is yet to take any concrete steps to curb such malpractices. In ‘A ‘fixed’ lesson for BCCI’, Abhijeet Kulkarni suggests some measures to stem the rot.

A sports reporter for over a decade, Abhijeet Kulkarni has covered various major international events, including the cricket world cup and IPL. He currently freelances for couple of media houses and also provides expert inputs on national television channels.

The Indian rupee fell sharply against the dollar and touched an historic low in the second half of 2013. This had an overall cascading effect on India’s economy. In ‘After the fall’, Alex K Mathews says while the government has taken several initiatives to stabilise the rupee, only quick policy decisions and its implementation can support the currency in the longer run.

The writer is the winner of Zee Business’ ‘India’s Best Financial Analyst Award 2013’ and has authored several books on finance, the latest being Security Analysis and Portfolio Management. He has also authored columns for various financial magazines and newspapers and also appeared as panelist on English and Malayalam news channels. Currently, he is working as the Research Head, Geojit BNP Paribas Financials Limited at Kochi in Kerala.

In ‘Know India Better’, we feature ‘Fatehpur Sikri’ which is a dream in red sandstone. Fatehpur Sikri is not only a magnificent symbol of Mughal architecture but also a reflection of Emperor Akbar’s fine taste for art and culture. Located near the city of Agra, Fatehpur Sikri was inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1986. It houses some of the most splendid monuments of the Mughal era, such as the Jami Masjid, Rang Mahal, the Diwan-i-Khas, Panch Mahal, Hawa Mahal, Buland Darwaza and the mausoleum of the revered sufi saint Salim Chishti. Text is by Md. Masarrath Ali Khan, freelance travel writer and Photos by Faeem.

In ‘Face to Face’, Shammi Nanda talks to Rajlakshmi Pillai on his idea about learning, health benefits of organic farming, the need to allow the body to heal itself, and his dream of creating a space for conflict transformation through NVC.

Shammi Nanda is a film maker who promotes sustainable living. He is a man who walks the talk. He promotes and talks about issues that he has had firsthand experience with. Starting from experimenting with ‘healthier’ ways of cooking, Nanda moved to exploring how our food is grown and has been connected with the organic food movement in India for the last eight years. The healing journey made him look at the toxic nature of negative emotions related to the food we eat. He discovered Non Violent Communication (NVC) as a way of allaying conflicts and advocates homeschooling as a way of learning. 

Also read some interesting general features.

In ‘Films that tugged at your heart’, Shoma A. Chatterji talks about two filmmakers whose hard-hitting films dealt with out-of-the-box people the mainstream hardly knows about. These outstanding films were the highlights of the 19^th Kolkata International Film Festival, which concluded on 19 November 2013.

The writer is a freelance journalist, film scholar and author. She has authored 17 published titles and won the National Award for Best Writing on Cinema twice. She won the UNFPA-Laadli Media Award, 2010 for ‘commitment to addressing and analysing gender issues’ among many awards. She is currently Senior Research Fellow, ICSSR, Delhi, researching the politics of presentation of working women in post-colonial Bengali cinema 1950 to 2003.

On the Occasion of Navy Day, we are happy to include the article ‘Navy Day – celebration of valour’, by Brigadier Suresh Chandra Sharma (retd). On 4 December 1971, in a daring operation, the Indian Navy attacked the Pakistan Navy in Karachi with surface-to-surface-missiles. This day is observed as the Navy Day. Brigadier Sharma (retd) narrates the heroic operation and hails the sailors whose valour and endeavour pushed the ships and machines to their technical limits.

We pay tribute to the ‘Unsung heroes of Indian aviation’, on the occasion of International Civil Aviation Day on December 7^th. All of us know the Wright brothers as the inventors of aeroplane. But how many of us are aware that it was an Indian who created an aircraft years before the Wrights, inspired by another fellow Indian who studied the thousand-year-old treatise on aeronautics by Sage Bharadwaj? B. M. N. Murthy profiles the extraordinary work of these two pioneers who deserve to be recognised and lauded not just in India but worldwide.

The writer, a retired senior engineer from the Life Insurance Corporation of India, is a prolific writer. He writes regularly on Indian heritage, tradition, vedic wisdom, etc. If you wish to be on his mailing list, contact him at bmnmurty@gmail.com

Days before his final test match, Sachin Tendulkar ensured the entrance to Wankhede stadium is wheelchair-friendly for his mother’s visit. In ‘The ground beneath the last hurrah’, Malay Desai talked to some cricket-crazy persons with disability to know what they felt about this gesture…

This is a part of a series of articles that celebrate the intriguing lives of persons with disabilities. This is an initiative of Trinayani which is a not-for-profit advocacy trust founded by Ritika Sahni. Trinayani works towards Disability Awareness and Support, communicating through workshops/seminars, print, radio, films and other electronic media.

In ‘Youth Voice’, Pratik Mantri asks, “Why the need and desire to ‘show-off?’ Pratik Mantri is a freelance writer based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. His dream is to see India as a poverty-free nation.  He loves to read, write and follow sports and politics closely.

In ‘Great Indians’, we feature 

T. Balasaraswathi, the legendary dancer (1918-1984); 

Manna De, The versatile musician (1919 – 2013) and 

Naib Subedar Chuni Lal AC, VrC, SM, display of excellent leadership (1968-2007).

Also read our regular columns and other features in the issue. To book a copy, email to oiopfoundation@gmail.com / oiop@vsnl.net or call Nagesh Bangera, OIOP Subscription-in-charge at 022- 2353 44 00.

We look forward to your feedback.